Chapter 29

Bolton hobbled through every corridor, past every cell and therapy room until he reached the infirmary. Swinging open the doors with his one remaining good arm, he sighed in relief at the sight of an empty ward. But his calm was soon short lived, when he suddenly heard movement coming from the connecting staff medicine room.

"Who's there?" Lyle called, his voice showing no sign of friendliness.

Without having to ask twice, the door suddenly opened and out stepped Doctor Joan Leland. Dried tears were stuck to her cheeks as she narrowed her brown eyes at him furiously. "What have you done?" She asked, her voice matching his angry tone. "You tortured a young woman in our care. You...you're just as bad as them."

Bolton gritted his teeth, trying to mask the pain that his neck, chest and brutally broken arm was giving him. "Don't preach to me about right and wrong Doctor. I've read Quinzel's file, you were her supervisor during her internship. You threw a young, naive, and quite frankly stupid little girl into the Joker's lap. As far as I'm concerned, you're just as responsible as the Joker is for her corruption."

Joan paused for a moment. Maybe he was right? She had given Harleen no guidance in the hope that she'd buckle under the pressure of having the Joker as her patient. If she'd just supported her, led her away from the trap that the Joker was setting. Maybe even become her friend so she didn't have to seek acceptance elsewhere. But it was too late to wonder about the what ifs now, it was done. But that didn't give Bolton the excuse to exercise violent justice upon her and the other inmates.

"Not to mention the fact that you've been unprofessional during your sessions with Quinzel and the Joker. Having therapy with no guards present, undermining my authority in front of them. How do you expect discipline to be installed if you're just going to undo every order I make." Bolton growled. "If you'd just separated them, kept them apart, none of this - none of this would've happened!" Lyle shouted, slamming his good fist down onto the nearby surgery tray.

Joan flinched back, gasping at his violent outburst. "Calm down Mr Bolton, no one is to blame here. I know the crimes they've committed and I know more than anyone that they need therapy, to rehabilitate. But if you take away their difference in mortality and their crimes, they're just people, two ordinary human lives linked together. It's unbreakable. Haven't you ever felt a connection like that?"

"But they're not normal, they're insane!" Shouted Bolton. "I'm connected to the job. I was hired to run this Asylum, and I will, by any means necessary. No more escapes, no more corruption and certainly no more clowns."

"You were hired to oversee the security of this Asylum, not to run it." Joan snapped. "But that's your mistake, and now it seems you're paying for it." She added, nodding this severely broken arm.

Just a Bolton was about to bite back with some more poisonous words, a thought flashed through his mind. Why the hell was Doctor Leland in here when the fire alarm was going off?

...

"Next left?" Batman asked, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"You're telling me you don't know where the infirmary is? Well I suppose you have more experience in putting people in there than actually paying a visit yourself." Joker smirked. "But yes, next left."

Batman grunted in response to the Joker's continual methods of trying to pry a reaction out of him. Taking the first left corridor that they came to, the words 'West wing infirmary' decorated the white bricked walls in bold black writing.

"Do I know this place, or do I know this place?" J giggled, taking the lead down the hall. They soon both came across the matching white double doors.

"Don't try anything or I won't hesitate in separating you two." Batman warned.

"Ah, want me all to yourself do you Bats? I don't blame you really, I'm quite the catch." Joker laughed, throwing Batman a wink. But his humor was over in seconds when his face dropped to a more serious expression. "Why are letting us be near each other? All you, the guards and the Doctor's have done is separate us? Aren't you worried that we'll escape?"

Batman remind silent, and instead hauled the Joker back by his wrist and raised his index finger to him in a warning of what would happen if they did try any funny business. "I apprehended you both on the streets of Gotham, you had your weapons, your car and neither of you were restrained. And yet, with all the resources you had, I still managed to put you back where you belong in this Asylum. Don't test me Joker, if you do it won't end the way you want it to."

"Oh, you know when you threaten me like that, I go all tingly." Joker teased, rolling his head back and releasing a laugh that could only be described as mocking and not humorous.

Not wasting another moment or giving the Joker the satisfaction of a response, Batman swung open the double doors. But nothing could've prepared him for the sight he walked in on.

Doctor Joan Leland was standing in the corner of the infirmary with only a syringe as defense as Bolton advanced on her, shouting curses, accusations and threats in her direction.

"You helped that sick bitch walk?! I had her detained!" Lyle spat furiously.

"You discharged your taser on her when there was no cause to. I told you to keep away from her, she was in her cell, defenseless! She wasn't a threat to anyone behind those bars but you went in anyway! To exercise your own sick justice on her for revenge!" Joan cried, tears slowly rolling down her face as she held up the only weapon she had to defend herself.

Batman listened in to the conversation transpiring between Joan and Bolton, which confirmed the Joker's story to be true. He turned his head towards Joker and saw his face turn from a smile into a rumbling snarl as his eyes scanned the room dangerously.

"Don't try anything." Batman warned, still holding J's wrists. But the Joker ignored his warning and released a low growl. The noise erupting for the Joker's throat caught the attention of Bolton and Leland.

Joan looked up with wide eyes as she saw Batman's figure covering the only doorway out of this infirmary, meaning that the only way Bolton was going to escape was to go through him first.

Lyle turned his head, slowly coming face to face with with the same figure that had caught Joan's attention. "Thank god." He sighed. "You have to call the GCPD, this woman, who claims to be a Doctor has just released Harley Quinn. She's running riot inside this Asylum. God knows who she might hurt, or even kill!"

Batman drew his lips into a tight, thin line. "I don't think she's going to be a problem after suffering a number of electrical shocks."

Lyle furrowed his brow at Batman's words. "You don't honestly believe that I would do that do you? My main priority here is to make sure that both the staff and the inmates are safe and secure."

"You have a temper Mr Bolton." Batman replied, taking a step forwards.

"Only when Doctors undermine my orders and release dangerous inmates!" Lyle argued.

Joker quickly stepped forward, his snarls growing even more vocal. "Where's Harley?" He growled, looking Joan directly in the eye.

"She went looking for you." Joan replied, almost tripping over her own words. "I told her to stay - to rest, but she didn't listen. I couldn't do anything."

"You could of fucking stopped her!" Joker shouted, gritting his grill together in pure anger.

"She wouldn't listen. You know how head strong she can be." Leland explained softly.

"With any luck the guards have thrown her in solitary!" Bolton interrupted, shooting the Joker a hard glare.

Batman stepped forward again, feeling the tensions rise within the room. "Doctor Leland, put down the syringe and make your way over to the fire assembly point." He suggested firmly.

"I don't want to leave Harleen whilst she's still at risk." Joan explained. But then she recalled the earlier conversation that Harley had had over the infirmary telephone. "But if you think that would be best."

Batman nodded, gesturing at Leland to leave the infirmary and get herself to safety. Joan didn't hesitate, she placed the syringe down carefully and made her way towards the door. As she passed the Joker, Joan paused for a moment. "She called a man who goes by the name of Frosty." She said, before quickly leaving through the door.

The Joker's lips curled up into the most pleasing smile. Bolton and even Batman had underestimated her, thinking that she was weak, only useful as the Joker's toy. But they were wrong, even after having volts of electricity rip through her body, she was still fighting, fighting for him and their freedom.

"Oh...good girl." The Joker giggled.

"Where the fuck is he?" Harley shouted, slamming her first against the white paint that coated the whole stretch of the solitary confinement walls.

"Calm down." Jonny said, pacing the hallway. "Did that Doctor woman definitely say he'd be here?"

"Well...not those exact words. She called B-man, where else would he put Puddin'?" Harley replied, her voice laced with frustration.

Frost rolled his eyes. "Never assume Harley, it's unbecoming of you."

"Look, what was I supposed ta' think?! I've been through hell in here!" She argued back.

"The more we stand here and wonder where the Boss is, the less chance we have of actually finding him." Frost explained. He then turned to face the henchmen. "Come on, we need to be quick and quiet. I have an idea."

"Okay but if it means splitting up, I'm not going to be paired with Baby face." Harley stated firmly. "No offence."

"We're not splitting up, if we do that, we'll get noticed. Stay in a group and we can deal with guards quickly if they so happen to cross our path." Jonny said, his voice projecting the commands like a true leader. "When Jerry got suspended he told me about the surveillance room,with CCTV cameras and the like."

"Yeah, yeah, I know where it is! I went in there a few times when I worked here!" Harley chimed in.

"I still find it hard to believe that you were a Doctor." Frost said flatly. "But in that case lead the way."

And Harley did just that, taking the lead and swinging her bat between her fingers, her and her henchmen marched through the halls easily. Leaving the solitary confinement halls and taking only two right turns, Harley soon brought them to the surveillance room.

"See, piece of cake." She smiled, running her nails over the surveillance room door.

"You got the keys to that door?" Frost asked, nodding at the keys Harley still possessed.

"Sure Frosty." Harley replied. She handed him her bat and then moved her right hand to her chest, fumbling around in her bra for the keys. She smiled triumphantly as the pulled them back out. "Now I know what key this door needs." Harley stepped forward and inserted the correct key into the lock slowly, being careful not to make too much noise in case there were guards still inside.

Once it was unlocked, Harley held her index finger up to her lips and looked at the henchmen. "Shh, there might be someone in there."

They all nodded silently in agreement, as Harley gently pressed down on the door handle and pulled it towards her. Poking her head through the tiny gap that she'd created, Harley saw the distinctive shape of two guards with their backs facing her. Reaching out behind herself, she motioned for Jonny to pass her bat back over, and when she closed her palm around it, the urge to crack some skulls became stronger with each passing second.

Harley stepped through the door quietly, tightening her grip on the wooden baseball bat, and without making a sound, she crept towards the two guards who seemed to be two engrossed in eating their cheesy Doritos to notice her standing behind them.

Harley raised her bat in the air, picking the orderly on her left hand side to be her first victim. Her veins were humming in anticipation, this would be her first kill since that night at the abattoir, and boy did she miss it.

Swinging it back with as much velocity as she could gain, Harley threw the bat forward, the dense wooden base making contact with the guard's skull. The hard crack was heard before she felt his head cave under her. The sound was delicious and it ignited every nerve ending in her body. Blood flew from the split she'd made at the crown of his head and decorated her face with little red freckles. Harley giggled when she felt the warm liquid touch her skin.

The guard on her right swiveled round in his chair, his delayed reaction caused by shock gave Harley a quick window of opportunity to add his brains to the crisp crumbs that decorated the qwerty keyboard. And with another hard smack, she did just that. Now standing proudly behind the two mashed up skulls, Harley turned on her heel and smiled at Frost, who had crept his way into the surveillance room while Harley was making her own brand of jam.

"You two really are made for each other aren't you?" Jonny said, looking over at Harley as she smiled back, her face still covered in blood.

"Aw! Frosty! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Harley beamed.

Jonny smiled nodding his head from side to side. "C'mon, let's check this footage." He said, tapping away at the keyboard, trying to avoid the mess that Harley had created with mixed brain matter. Once he had switched the camera's over, one of the henchmen dressed in an eyeball mask stepped forward, barely fitting through the door frame. "Erm, Frost, I don't think we need to check anymore. I've found the Boss." He said, pointing at one of the many mounted screens that lined the walls.

Harley gasped as she laid her eyes on the black and white screen, struggling to project a picture through the static. She could just make out her Puddin'. His slick back green hair appearing in a light shade. Her mind drifted for a moment, he'd definitely be a silver fox when his digits bumped up a good ten to fifteen years, if the chemicals he'd been exposed to decreased their effect with age.

"Harley?" First called, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "Wanna share the thoughts you've run off with?"

"Erm...I was just…" Harley stuttered.

Jonny sighed in frustration. "Look, they're all in the infirmary. I say we bust in, take the Bat down before Bolton. Two guys on the door, just in case Bolton makes a break for it. Once the Bat's secured we can un-cuff the Joker and take his lead." He suggested. "Any questions?"

The henchmen dressed in the comic batman mask raised his hand. "Can I swap my cowl with his?"

Harley furrowed her brow and piped up. "No way, Puddin' would kill you for even thinking about touching him."

"Noted." The goon replied, stepping backwards into the crowd of other henchmen.

"Stupid questions done?" Frost asked. Upon receiving no reply, he continued. "Good, let's go get the Boss."

...

Batman reached down into his utility belt and pulled out the handcuff keys. Joker smiled when he saw the keys reach his wrist, but much to his disappointment, Batman only unlocked one cuff.

"Y'know, it only really works if you unlock them both Bats." Joker giggled, flexing his free wrist.

"We're not done here Joker." Batman replied, quickly snapping the empty cuff around one of the empty beds, keeping him trapped against the cast iron frame. Once the Joker was secure Batman made his way over to Bolton, who was now raiding the medicine cabinet for any form of pain relief.

"I need to see a Doctor." He growled, checking the labels of every bottle he could get his hands on.

"The less you move it, the less it will hurt." Batman replied. "Take a seat and I'll arrange for some assistance."

Lyle turned his head and nodded, taking a seat on the nearby chair. "Why haven't you locked him up yet? He needs to be in solitary."

"The Asylum hasn't been cleared for the fire check yet. The alarm might of been fake, but it's protocol." Batman explained. He then dropped his tone of voice slightly, looking Bolton directly in the eye. "Why did you do it Bolton? What did you possible have to gain?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lyle said dismissively.

"Quinn isn't the first one is she? You've been taking punishment it your own hands since you were employed." He growled.

"I was recommended by Bruce Wayne, of Wayne Enterprises! He transferred me to help run this place. As soon as I got here, this Asylum was like a damn revolving door!" Lyle shouted. "In and out, in and out, that's what all these inmates end up doing. The therapy doesn't work, it's just a waste of money, money better spent elsewhere. We could have guards with better equipment. Get rid of those useless therapy rooms and turn them into more cells. This place was a joke until I got here!" He yelled, clenching his jaw. "Ever since I showed up, we've has less breakouts and less staff injury."

"That may be so, but more inmates have been sent to the infirmary with unexplained injuries." Batman responded, taking a step towards him. "This isn't a prison, this is an Asylum for the criminally insane. They're not stable. Therapy helps them, not all of them, but this Asylum isn't about numbers, it's about rehabilitating lives that have taken a turn down the dark path."

"Therapy is just an excuse for these animals to get out of doing manual labour. They're a virus, a germ spreading across this city and I intend to stop it by any means necessary!"

Batman stepped closer again, now towering over Bolton who was slumped in the chair. He reached down to his utility belt and produced his last pair of handcuffs. Lyle caught sight of them and quickly began to struggle, but Batman was too quick. Using his right hand, he secured Lyle to the chair by his neck, while the other worked at restraining his own right arm to the table leg, which was fastened down onto the ground to prevent it being used as a weapon. "I haven't got enough fingers and toes for the list of charges you're going to face when you get out of here. You're just as much as a criminal as they are, you just haven't been caught yet, but it's coming. You complain about the justice system, but it's men like you that corrupt it." Batman snapped, glaring down at the man he'd trusted to make this place safer, when in fact he'd only made it more dangerous.

Meanwhile on the other side of the medicine bay, the Joker had managed to find a comfortable position on the scratchy hospital bed. Whistling to himself and swinging his legs back and forth he began to imagine what kind of plan Harley had up her orange jumpsuit sleeve to get them both out of here. He suddenly stopped whistling when his brain flashed back to the moment she begged him to break out of here, but he refused her, wanting to wait for the right moment. And in doing so, she ended up being tortured, in her cell alone. What if Jervis Tetch hadn't walked down that corridor at that moment of time? How far would Bolton of gone to prove his point? Until she was paralyzed both mentally and physically? Or until she was dead?

Joker growled, his teeth clamping together like a dog ready to fight. This wasn't over with Bolton by a long shot, he was gonna pay with more than a few broken bones.

Just as the Joker was about to explore his repertoire of physical pain inflicted on others, he was pulled out of his thoughts but a subtle noise coming from outside the infirmary double doors. Checking that Batman was still busy with the pig in uniform, Joker carefully hopped of the bed and stretched his neck out, hoping to see through the two small rounded windows that gave the perfect view out towards the corridor.

Craning his neck to the side, all breath left his lungs when he laid his eyes on the sight before him. At the end of the hall stood Harley. Her ripped Arkham jumpsuit was peppered with blood spots, matching those splattered across her face. Her blue eyes were wild as she marched forward, holding a baseball bat over her shoulders. Behind her stood his right hand man Jonny Frost and his henchmen. Joker purred at the sight, he'd seen Harley do many things, but lead his men through a locked down Asylum covered in blood, with revenge searing through her veins was not one of them.

The Joker licked his lips in anticipation as he saw them approach, it would only be a matter of time now. "Oh baby, come to Daddy!" He said breathlessly, not being able to tear his eyes away from Harley. "This is gonna be a riot."